Children's Home run by St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in St Helens

Inspection report for children's home: SC035971 1 SC035971 Registered provider: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority children’s home. It offers short breaks to a maximum of four children at any one time. At the time of the inspection, there were two children accessing the service.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for children with learning difficulties and physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2012.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC035971 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2023 Full Outstanding 07/09/2021 Full Outstanding 03/12/2019 Full Outstanding 27/11/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC035971 3

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outstanding

Children are exceptionally well cared for. They form strong and positive relationships with staff and feel safe and secure. One child’s parent said, ‘I can’t praise them enough. They are like family.’

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outstanding

The manager and staff are committed to working together with parents, placing authorities, specialist health advisers and the positive behaviour support team. They attend child-in-need meetings and reviews. These positive and effective working relationships make sure that children consistently receive a high level of exceptional care. As a result, children make progress in line with their individual targets.

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outstanding

The manager and staff ensure that children’s wishes and views are valued, listened to and consistently acted on. There is a strong emphasis on using each child’s preferred communication method. This means that children have the opportunity to contribute to day-to-day decisions about their care. They have a choice about their meals and activities and are supported to understand important information about their lives.

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outstanding

The manager supports staff to use research in practice. For example, one member of staff has completed some research with the positive behaviour support team as part of their work towards a qualification, which has been used to improve communication opportunities for one child.

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outstanding

Staff make sure that they provide children with opportunities which expand their life experiences. Staff give children a chance to experience a wide range of stimulating and age-appropriate activities to meet their sensory needs and interests. These include going on drives out, going to the cinema and theatre, to beaches, on boat trips and going shopping and to local parks. This means that children have the opportunity to enjoy experiences which they may not otherwise be able to have. They benefit greatly from spending time at the home.

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outstanding

The manager and staff arrange regular family days, including coffee mornings and summer celebrations. This means that children and their friends and families can spend time together at the home. This helps family members to feel involved in the home and to build positive relationships with staff.

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outstanding

When children are new to the home, they are made to feel welcome. This is done with the best possible planning, taking into account the children’s individual circumstances and the staff’s skills and training. There is a child-centred approach to deciding if the home and the staff team are suitable to meet children’s needs before they start their stays. Inspection report for children's home: SC035971 4

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outstanding

The staff know the children in their care very well. Each child’s individual risks are detailed in their risk management plans. These are robust documents which are frequently reviewed and updated. They give clear information, guidance and strategies to staff to ensure that there is a consistent response to children’s behaviours.

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outstanding

One child’s plan includes information on the use of a wrist strap and a walking harness. However, there is no clear advice for staff in the plan of how and when this equipment needs to be used or whether it is still required. A recommendation has been made to include more detailed guidance about this.

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outstanding

Parents and professionals are highly complimentary about the care and support that children receive. One parent said, ‘I know that [name of child] is 100% safe when they are there.’

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outstanding

Children receive high levels of close care, support and supervision from the staff. There have been no occasions when it has been necessary to physically hold a child to keep them safe. However, all staff are fully trained to physically intervene in a safe way when it is appropriate to do so. Any significant events or incidents are recorded appropriately and include the manager’s oversight.

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outstanding

The manager has researched training specifically for children with complex needs. All staff have attended this additional training to give them a more specialised approach to supporting the safeguarding needs of the children they care for. There have been no allegations, disclosures or safeguarding concerns since the last inspection. Staff were able to explain the correct processes they would follow should they be made aware of any concerns or allegations.

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outstanding

Medication is stored in a safe place, and records are detailed. When there are queries about the prescribed medication for children, staff ensure that these are followed up with parents, or they seek advice from the relevant healthcare professionals.

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outstanding

The physical environment for children is safe and secure and protects them from harm. The home is warm and welcoming, with photos of the children displayed throughout. Equipment in the sensory room has recently been upgraded and the children have also benefited from new jacuzzi baths in each upstairs bathroom. This helps to meet some children’s sensory needs and provides children with a safe place to relax and unwind. Inspection report for children's home: SC035971 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is an experienced manager, who is supported by a skilled and qualified deputy manager and team leader. They are positive role models for the children and the team. Staff described the management team as available, approachable and always willing to offer support and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers know the children well and have an ambitious vision for what the children can achieve. The manager has successfully created a culture in which staff place the needs of children at the heart of their practice and aspire to improve the lives of the children who stay in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are systems in place for the effective monitoring and review of the quality of care in the home. These systems ensure that the leaders and managers have oversight and that they can identify strengths and areas for development. This supports continuous improvement. However, the review of the quality of care is not always sufficiently evaluative and actions identified are not consistently measurable and specific to the needs of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The service is held in high regard by families, social workers and other professionals. They all report that the care and support provided at the home are child-focused and that there are excellent levels of communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular formal and informal supervision. This is used well to support and develop staff. However, staff have not had their performance appraised in the past year, although this has not had any impact on the care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a consistent and stable staff team. Despite some vacancies in the team, the planning for children’s stays and rota planning are well considered. This ensures that children’s individual needs are well met by staff who they know and who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have completed mandatory training and further training to meet the children’s individual needs. This has been innovative, such as inviting one child’s mother to the team meeting to deliver a cooking workshop to the staff to make them aware of the child’s very specific dietary needs. There has also been additional training from The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, oxygen training and training from epilepsy nurses to meet children’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The ethos of the home is to provide a warm, welcoming environment that supports and promotes positive outcomes. This is something that the whole team embraces and achieves well. Inspection report for children's home: SC035971 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 30 April 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make sure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Any mechanical restraints such as wrist straps and walking harnesses should be detailed in children’s plans, with clear guidance for staff on how and when to use them. They should be frequently assessed to make sure they continue to be necessary and effective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring. When completing the quality of care review, the registered person should make sure that the report is evaluative and that any actions identified are measurable and specific to the needs of the service during the time frame of the report. (‘Guide to

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Recommendations

the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children's home: SC035971 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Children & Young People’s Services, Atlas House, 2 Corporation Street, St Helens, Merseyside WA9 1LD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Paula Swindlehurst

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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC035971 8 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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